By: Camryn Daniels, marketing and communications intern

As the Eiteljorg’s registrar, April Knauber handles loan agreements and shipping logistics, works with photographers and art handling, and acts as the courier for the museum — meaning anytime a piece of the Eiteljorg’s collection travels to another museum or gallery, she travels with it, including domestic and international travel. Before becoming the registrar, she has worked many positions elsewhere, ranging from bouncer to exhibit fabricator. Here are five questions to help you get to know April.

What is your favorite thing about being the registrar?

One of my favorite things about being a registrar is that I’m always learning something new. In order to succeed within our field, you need a healthy appetite of curiosity. Anytime I learn about something I didn’t know before, I go down a rabbit hole to find out all the things about it. And this is a position that lives off of that, all the information!

What is your favorite art piece in our collection?

We have such an amazing collection here that narrowing it down is difficult. My art history background is Modern – Contemporary, so I’m naturally attracted to our contemporary art. A piece that really moved me was the following:

Demian DinéYazhi´ (Diné, b. 1983)
my ancestors will not let me forget this, 2019
neon, aluminum, insulated wiring, mechanical components
21 × 42 × 20 inches
Museum purchase from the Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship
2019.14.1 A-C

Why did you choose to work at the Eiteljorg?

I choose to work at the Eiteljorg Museum because we have been a leading institution when it comes to repatriating items that should not be ours (aka, not in a museum, it should be with its people). As a Filipino, whose background is of a country with a long history of colonization, I found this rewarding and in line with my long-term goals — and it’s something that I believe all museums can be better at. I am excited to work at a museum which does just that. We have one of the best collections internationally that highlights Native contemporary artwork, and a Western art collection that we continue to expand and look at different viewpoints on; I’m so lucky to be one of the people that gets to see it up close. I also personally thrive in an environment where I can talk about artwork with other like-minded coworkers and get excited about the pieces and exhibitions we have. 

What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?

I’m a practicing artist outside of work and my partner is a musician. So I’m very involved in the creative community here. I have some local and out-of-state shows coming up that I’m currently making sculptures and video art for. A lot of my free time involves working in my studio, going to shows, or going to some of my favorite local restaurants.

When someone finds out you work at the Eiteljorg, what question do they always ask you?

Usually when I tell someone I work at the Eiteljorg Museum they are excited and ask me about exhibitions we have going on or coming up. We have a lot of great exhibitions from our permanent collection and traveling to use as well. I’m always telling people to check them out.